My Kind of Happy - Part Three: A new feel-good, funny serial from the Sunday Times bestseller

by Cathy Bramley

  Contents

  Title Page

  About the Book

  Previously in Part Two of My Kind Of Happy

  PART THREE: A Budding Romance

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About A Perfect Arrangement

  About the Author

  Copyright

  About the Book

  This is part three in a feel-good, joyful four-part serial from Sunday Times bestseller Cathy Bramley.

  ‘I think flowers are sunshine for the soul.’

  Flowers have always made Fearne smile. She treasures the memories of her beloved grandmother’s floristry and helping her to arrange beautiful blooms that brought such joy to their recipients.

  But ever since a family tragedy a year ago, Fearne has been searching for her own contentment. When a chance discovery inspires her to start a happiness list, it seems that Fearne might just have found her answer …

  Sometimes the scariest path can be the most rewarding. So is Fearne ready to take the risk and step into the unknown? And what kind of happiness might she find if she does?

  My Kind of Happy is a heartwarming novel told in four parts, following one woman’s search to find the secret to her own happiness. This is the third part.

  Previously in Part Two of My Kind Of Happy

  Fearne’s dream of a happy life bursting with flowers is just getting started, and she never expected it to lead her to the picturesque village of Barnaby. Her new job is putting a spring back in her step – until she realises things at Nina’s flower shop might not be as rosy as the cheery blooms suggest … and they only have one week to put it right.

  Can Fearne use her experience to help Nina turn things around? She’ll need best friend Laura’s help with her ideas: expanding clients, a wreath workshop…And it will mean more time with the sexy property manager, Sam Diamond, who makes her blush deeper than a poppy. Fearne is excited and daunted all at once. Is this going to be one adventure too many, or her time to shine?

  Just as things start looking up for Nina’s Flowers, Fearne starts to fall for Sam. Can she still focus on growing the business or will her love life have to be cut short? Find out in the third part of the My Kind of Happy story, A Budding Romance…

  PART THREE

  A Budding Romance

  Chapter One

  The Claybourne Hotel finally came into view as Laura and I made our way up the long approach from the road. It was stunning. Festooned in frothy lilac wisteria, the Edwardian building stood proudly at the head of the drive amid pristine gardens. The façade was like something a child would draw; it had four rows of pretty white sash windows set into soft grey stone walls, steps leading up to a wide front door and two bay trees either side adorned with pale lilac bows. Directly in front of the house was a circular water feature with a fountain at its centre and terraced flower beds, bursting with colour, flanked each side.

  ‘Wow,’ said Laura and I at the same time.

  We were into June and it was my first Monday without Nina and I was wasting no time in getting the week off to a positive start. I’d asked Laura to accompany me to visit the Claybourne Hotel for a bit of moral support and she’d been happy to oblige.

  We grinned at each other in excitement and Laura whistled.

  ‘Fearne! Can we just acknowledge just how goddamn well you’re doing at this floristry lark to get a gig like this?’

  I laughed and headed to the car park behind the hotel. ‘Getting the gig was the easy bit, now I need to work out how to deliver it.’

  She flapped a hand. ‘You’ll find a way.’

  I laughed. ‘Says someone who struggles to display a single rose.’

  ‘I’ve got Hamish trained now.’ Her eyes twinkled. ‘He buys the ones which are already arranged.’

  ‘He’s a keeper then?’

  She didn’t have to reply; everything about her glowed: her skin, her eyes, her smile. Being in love suited her.

  I pulled Nina’s van into a space and we both stared at the hotel.

  ‘This would be an amazing venue for a wedding.’ I nudged her. ‘You’ll have to bear it in mind for if Hamish pops the question.’

  She gave me a look of rebuke as we got out of the van. ‘It’s the twenty-first century, Fearne, these days, we can ask men out on dates, say I love you first, pop our own questions.’

  ‘I suppose.’ I said and then sighed wistfully.

  Laura raised her eyebrows, missing nothing. She had watched me sabotage my last relationship. I had shut Steve out. There’d been nothing malicious about my actions, Freddie’s death had left me numb to the needs of other people and a layer of ice had grown around my heart. And now the ice was beginning to thaw. I’d taken my work life in a new direction, maybe it was time for my heart to do the same.

  She must have read my mind. ‘Do you think you might be ready to start dating again?’

  ‘Maybe,’ I said, taking her arm. ‘Come on, let’s go and do a recce on this place, I need to get back to the shop. I’ve left Scamp with Biddy and he misses me when I’m away.’

  ‘OK,’ she said, shouldering her handbag. ‘But don’t think you can change the subject that easily. I’m on a mission to find you a man. And I don’t mean one with a waggy tail and four legs.’

  Inside, the hotel foyer was every bit as elegant as the exterior. Polished wooden floors gleamed, crystal chandeliers sparkled in the sunlight and a pair of receptionists beamed at us from behind a long mahogany desk. The overall effect was a welcoming blend of good taste, glamour and laid-back comfort.

  I gave my name and asked for Marcia and while we waited for her, Laura and I were directed to a pair of wing-backed armchairs with a view out onto the terrace and the gardens beyond.

  ‘It’s like being in the home of a wealthy old aunt,’ I whispered to Laura, sitting down.

  There was a small table between us on which sat a vase of old-fashioned roses, just like the ones which used to smother the trellis outside Granny’s back door. I leaned forward to sniff them and it took me straight back to my childhood and being taught to bash the stems of cut roses with a rolling pin to help them take up water.

  A tray of coffee and biscuits was set in front of us and Laura’s eyes lit up.

  ‘The last time we were somewhere as grand as this was on our spa day,’ she said, pouring us both a drink.

  I winced. ‘I was a bundle of laughs that day. I’m surprised you’re still willing to go out with me.’

  ‘Of course! You nut job.’ She slid a cup and saucer towards me. ‘Anyway you’ve come a long way since then. We both have. I think that crystal healer would be proud of us.’

  ‘You mean Maureen Sinclair?’ I said reaching for my bag. I pulled out the crystal she’d given me.

  ‘Ha snap!’ Laura found hers and we chinked them together.

  ‘Do you remember what she said about them?’ I asked, taking her crystal from her. Whereas mine was a smooth egg-shaped stone, hers was irregular, shaped like a little bird, golden threads within it catching the light.

  Laura nodded, her gaze soft. ‘That mine would help me work on my communication skills.’

  ‘It didn’t take long to take effect, did it?’ I teased. ‘We’d barely left the studio and you spilled
all the beans.’

  ‘That was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done,’ she admitted. ‘But then I plucked up the courage to suggest Hamish and I moved in together.’

  ‘That was your suggestion?’ I said surprised.

  ‘Yep. Losing Freddie …’ She lifted her shoulder. ‘Well, it puts life into perspective. I knew I loved Hamish and I didn’t want to waste time not being with him. So I told him.’

  ‘I love that you two are so happy,’ I said. ‘And Maureen’s advice to me was to be kind to myself. So on that note …’

  I helped myself to a delicious chocolate biscuit from the plate. Laura joined me and we crunched away for a few moments. Maureen had said more than that of course, she’d asked me if I’d forgotten what made me happy. She’d hit the nail on the head, but now with Freddie’s help, I felt like I was getting there. Here I was in a beautiful setting, with my best friend, about to discuss the biggest order Nina’s Flowers will have ever taken. Life was good. Except for one thing: Sam …

  ‘Despite what I said about it being the twenty-first century,’ Laura said out of the blue, breaking into my thoughts, ‘I would prefer it if Hamish were to propose to me rather than the other way around. And I don’t think I’d have the reception here.’

  ‘Oh?’ I took another biscuit. ‘I like it.’

  ‘It’s a bit fancy for me.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I’d just go for something simple. Or just escape to a white sandy beach and do it in secret.’

  I looked alarmed. ‘I hope the maid of honour will still get an invitation?’

  She pretended to think about it and I poked my tongue out at her.

  ‘Of course you will,’ she laughed. ‘I don’t mean entirely in secret. I won’t have my mum there to see me get married but I couldn’t do it without Dad.’

  ‘I’m so happy for you.’ I took a deep breath and blinked away the prickle of tears in my eyes. ‘My best friend and Freddie’s best friend. There’s a circular beauty to it that just feels right somehow.’

  Laura smiled, misty-eyed. ‘Thank you.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Perhaps we need to keep the circle going and find you someone from Hamish’s list of Facebook friends.’

  ‘Um.’ I brushed the crumbs from my lap. ‘I have made a friend since I’ve been in Barnaby. Sam. He works for the landlord. The one I said came around to chase Nina for money.’

  She looked surprised. ‘Isn’t he supposed to be the baddie?’

  A picture of Sam’s handsome face appeared in my mind and the look of concentration in his eyes when he was trying to twist the stems for Pandora’s bouquet.

  I shook my head. ‘Sam only wanted the rent which was overdue, he’s hardly a loan shark threatening to send the heavies round. He’s nice and kind and it was he who helped me get a foot in the door here.’

  Laura stared at me amused. ‘You really do like him, don’t you!’

  I felt the beginning of a blush. ‘No. Possibly. But it doesn’t matter either way because he’s just got back with his ex-wife. And I helped him.’

  ‘Sounds complicated.’ She arched an eyebrow. ‘Trust you.’

  ‘I know.’ I smiled ruefully. ‘And in theory, of course I want him to live happily ever after with his wife and children, but I’m not sure his wife feels the same.’

  Laura ploughed through the rest of the biscuits while I told her I’d discovered that Pandora might be having an affair.

  ‘I was hoping to see her for myself when I delivered two lots of flowers to her house, but a cute little boy answered.’

  It had had to have been Sam’s son, Will. The one who slept curled up with his thumb in his mouth. My heart fluttered as I remembered the look of adoration on Sam’s face when he’d told me about his children. I hope Will hadn’t read the note from Sexy Tiger which had accompanied the roses. I gave a shudder.

  Laura shook her head. ‘Poor kid. Sounds like Sam might not be married for much longer.’

  ‘I hate knowing something about his wife that he doesn’t know,’ I screwed up my face. ‘It feels underhand.’

  ‘Hmm,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Do you know him well enough to tell him?’

  I shook my head. ‘Nina has a motto: what happens in the florist, stays in the florist. It would be unethical; Gareth Weaver, or should I say Sexy Tiger, deserves our trust.’

  ‘And what about Sam’s trust?’ Laura said doubtfully. ‘What about the children? It’s not fair on them.’

  ‘I know.’ I’d thought about nothing else all weekend and I still didn’t have a good answer. ‘But if I say something, he’ll hate me for spoiling his marriage and it’ll be me who ends up being the baddie.’

  Laura looked at me solemnly. ‘For the record, if you ever find out something like this about a relationship I’m in, I’d want to know.’

  ‘Oh god,’ I groaned. ‘Now I don’t know whether I’m being a better friend by not telling him, or a worse one.’

  Her lips twitched. ‘Are you sure that’s all he is? A friend?’

  Sam Diamond was on my mind more than a casual friend should be. And I needed to put a stop to it. He belonged to someone else, even if Pandora didn’t feel the same way. Besides my heart was still delicate. It couldn’t take any further loss and a man with as much baggage as Sam was a risk I didn’t dare to take. I blew out a breath and met Laura’s inquisitive gaze.

  ‘He’s just a friend,’ I confirmed. ‘That’s all he can ever be.’

  Laura looked as if she had more to say on the matter but right on cue I noticed a familiar face heading our way.

  ‘Brush the crumbs off your chin,’ I said with a grin. ‘Here comes Marcia to show us around the hotel.’

  An hour later, Laura and I were back on the road. I was negotiating the sharp bends and steep hills which led us back to Barnaby and Laura had her elbow hanging out of the window while singing along with great enthusiasm to the nineties hits on our favourite radio station.

  ‘Rather you than me,’ said Laura during a lull in the music. ‘That hotel ballroom is huge, I wouldn’t know where to start.’

  ‘Well once I managed to tune your dreadful singing out, I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve got loads of ideas.’

  ‘Rude,’ said Laura, picking up Scamp’s bag of doggie chocolate buttons.

  I stopped her just before she tipped them into her mouth. ‘Although I’m sure they’re edible.’

  ‘I’ll pass.’ She folded her arms. ‘Go on, hit me with your ideas, it’ll take my mind off my rumbling stomach.’

  ‘OK. I’m going to do a moongate at the entrance to the ballroom. That’s a big metal hoop which you cover in flowers,’ I added, noting her blank expression. ‘Then once inside the ballroom, I’m going to get some wooden trellis panels and put them either side of the entrance so it feels like you’re walking into a secret garden. I’m going to do a pathway of flowers …’

  I stopped, feeling Laura’s eyes on me. ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘I hope Nina knows how lucky she is to have you,’ she said fondly.

  I shrugged. ‘I’m the lucky one. I’m really enjoying this and if it goes well, we could get other conference work. People seem to have elastic budgets when it comes to special events.’

  ‘Good for you. I’m proud of you.’ She reached across and squeezed my leg. ‘As long as you’ve got a watertight contract for all your outlay, that’s the main thing.’

  A dart of nerves pierced my happiness for a second but I quickly dismissed it. I hadn’t got a contract yet, but there was plenty of time for all that.

  Laura groaned at my hesitation. ‘Fearne!’

  ‘Oh, stop worrying.’ I laughed as she squeezed the sides of her face with her hands. ‘I’m putting my heart and soul into this, it can’t possibly go wrong.’

  And with the windows down, the breeze in my hair and my best friend by my side, I sang along to the radio feeling on top of the world. Nothing, but nothing was going to spoil my good mood.

  Chapter Two

  Th
e next morning, there was a sharp rap on the door of the shop shortly before seven thirty.

  I looked up from the counter where I was working on my laptop. There was a short barrel-shaped man with wild grey hair sticking out from under a blue cap staring at me through the glass. Outside was a huge lorry with ‘Sunshine Flowers’ along the length of it.

  I opened the door, Scamp at my heels.

  ‘Mr Sunshine?’ I offered him my hand to shake and he pumped it up and down a couple of times. ‘Thanks for coming to see me.’

  ‘Morning. You can call me Victor. You the new girl then?’ His voice had a musical Welsh lilt to it.

  ‘Correct. I’m Fearne Lovage.’

  ‘That other girl given up, has she?’ He looked mildly amused. ‘Not surprised. Bloody city girls. Doing their escape to the country bit, thinking it’ll all be cream teas and village fetes. Ridiculous.’

  ‘If you mean Nina, the proprietor, no she hasn’t given up,’ I said evenly. ‘She’s away … on a research trip.’ No need to mention she was researching New Zealand farmers for possible husbands, I had a feeling Victor would find that even more ridiculous.

  He stood in the middle of the shop, hands on hips and looked around. He was wearing a navy Guernsey jumper despite the building warmth of the June morning and wouldn’t have looked out of place mending lobster pots on the Cornish coast while singing sea shanties.

  Scamp sat neatly at his feet waiting to be admired. Victor rewarded him by bending down and scratching him behind his ears.

  Sourcing a flower supplier who’d make deliveries to the shop was a priority. I didn’t fancy making crack of dawn trips to the market as Nina had been doing. I’d gone with her once but we’d had to leave Scamp locked in the van and he’d been barking his head off when we’d returned. Now I never left him alone for more than a couple of minutes if I could help it. Nina had recommended I chat to Victor because she’d almost taken him on before; she’d omitted to tell me that he was a miserable so-and-so.

  ‘Glad to see you’re tech-savvy,’ he said, looking at my laptop which I’d set up on the counter next to my iPad.